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Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineFinial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?), 400–1000. Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century. Gold, cast; overall: 11.4 x 7.2 x 6 cm (4 1/2 x 2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2015.3
